EVALUATION OF ADHERENCE AND DETERMINANTS OF ADHERENCE TO HIGHLY ACTIVE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY AMONG HIV-INFECTED ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS ATTENDING A NIGERIA TEACHING HOSPITAL TREATMENT CENTRE

Sani Ibn Yakubu*, Erick Wesley Hedima, Nasiru Yakubu Ikunaiye, Micheal Samuel, Adeyemi Abdul-basit Haliru

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to evaluate adherence and determinants of adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among HIV-infected adults and adolescents attending a Nigeria Teaching Hospital Treatment Centre. Method: An expert validated 41-item structured questionnaire (Cronbach alpha of 0.709) was administered to 400 HIV-infected adolescents and adults. The questionnaire was divided in to three parts: the first part was directed at the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, the second and the third parts were designed to assess respondents’ adherence to HAART and the knowledge of the respondents on HIV infection as well as on HAART respectively. Results: The results revealed that female respondents (71.5%) were significantly (p < 0.001) more than male respondents (28.5%) with comparable level of education attained between the gender (p = 0.376). Most of the respondents (34%) were unemployed with females more than males (p < 0.001) and the majority of the respondents were married. A total of 236 (59.0%) of the respondents achieved ≥ 95% adherence by pharmacy records with both gender having comparable adherence. Only 2% and 1.5% of the respondents achieved ≥ 95% adherence by self-report and pooled adherence respectively. Conclusion: Overall, the adherence rates were very poor in this setting. Patients’ residence from the treatment centre and knowledge on HAART were the factors that correlate with adherence. Counselling, knowledge, years on HAART and complexity of regimen were predictors of pooled adherence among the patients. Furthermore, demographic and socio-economic factors like: gender, level of education, marital status, income and occupation have influence on adherence.

Keywords: Adherence, HAART, HIV-infected, knowledge, pooled adherance.